Paul Smiths College president Mills to retire

Paul Smiths President John Mills will step down in June 2014. Photo: Paul Smith’s College

Paul Smiths College has announced that John Mills, the long-time leader of the school near Saranac Lake, will retire next summer.  He’s worked at PSC since 2000, first as vice president for academic affairs.  This from the official release:

“This is the best job I ever had,” said Mills, 66, who has been president since 2004. “I’m making this decision, though, at a time when higher education is facing great change. This is an opportune moment for a new leader to help Paul Smith’s execute that transition.”

E. Phillip Saunders, chairman of the college’s board of trustees, applauded Mills upon his retirement. “I want to thank John for his 13 years of service to Paul Smith’s College, and what will be 10 and a half years as president,” Saunders said. “He has done an outstanding job of leading the college, and serving as a community leader. His decision to retire is a disappointment to us, but an opportunity as well. We are initiating a search for a leader who can take John’s successes and the college’s opportunities into the future.”

Since Mills joined Paul Smith’s in 2000, as vice president for academic affairs, he has helped usher the college through a period of rapid transformation. He helped ensure the success of Paul Smith’s transition from a two- to a four-year institution, oversaw some of the largest enrollments on campus since the early 1980s, and drove award-winning programs to strengthen academic support for students who might have dropped out of college without them.

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Saunders acknowledged that these are challenging times for most small, private colleges – and while Paul Smith’s isn’t immune to these challenges, Saunders said, he emphasized that the college’s financial future looks strong. The college’s $22 million endowment continues to perform well, he said, and Paul Smith’s is in a position to make investments that will attract new students.

The Executive Committee of the college’s board will meet Wednesday to finalize plans for conducting a search for a new president.